Serpents, snakes, and their legged, related reptiles, the dragons, have been a part of art history perhaps since humans began to make art. The serpent is featured in many cultures around the world and is associated with both positive and negative attributes. Many represent gods or creatures close to the gods, so they are often associated with divinity and wisdom.

Because they have the ability to completely shed their skins, generating new ones quickly and without harm to themselves, they also represent immortality and rejuvenation. In addition, snakes represent healing and are in the caduceus, the emblem of doctors. Snakes and rods or sticks are often linked together in folklore, with a common motif of wooden staffs turning into snakes. This is another way to show that they are affiliated with the divine. The story of Moses may be the most famous of the variations on this story.

Because serpents tend to wrap their cold-blooded bodies around things or coil themselves while resting, the spiral shape is often used in art to depict serpents or serpent-like qualities. The Great World Serpent is said to use his long, flexible body to circumvent the Earth. The Ouroboros is a circle in the form of the snake eating his own tail. The symbol represents infinity and the word is also the name of this Great World Serpent.

The snake can be used as a sign of fertility and the creative life force.

Because some snakes tend to attack when provoked, instead of “running,” even when the “attacker” is unaware of his intrusion or offenses, some snakes have received the attributes of vengefulness and vindictiveness. However, this “hold their ground and fight” quality has also given snakes the role of protectors, especially of unmovable treasures. It is this role of guardian that interested me for this next oil painting that I present to you.

Laocoön and his two sons, Antiphantes and Thymbraeus, are attacked by serpents, marble

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USA visit: Exhibits in April and May

Since two doctors in January contradicted the specialist in December who told me that I needed ACL reconstruction surgery (on my knee) with a painful six-month rehabilitation, I ended up INSTEAD doing electro-magnetic and e-stimulation therapy. I am still working on healing my leg, but without surgery, it should be safe for me to visit the US in April and May. I cannot wait to see all of my brothers and sisters in the same place, with our mother, too! [It may have been 20 years since that has happened!] We will be celebrating the marriage of the youngest of my siblings in late April.

Art Events: Texas and Indianapolis, Indiana

April 2017: Gilbert Barrera’s Sculptor Dominion - Boerne, Texas
The first weekend in April should be the grand opening and I plan to be there with my marble sculpture. I do not have details yet, but by next month's newsletter, I will let you know the specifics. This event used to be held in San Antonio, but the new venue should be relaxing and spacious.

May 19-20, 2017: Austin, Texas: LiberArte:
W. 6th the condos are called 7
May 19th from 7pm-10 (or later depending on crowd)
May 20th 4pm-8pm

Exhibiting Artists:

Leandro Klapputh - Buenos Aires

Adrian Moraru - Moldova

Denis Chernov - Moscow

Luis Rico - Mexico

Maria Fotaki - Greece

Kelly Borsheim - Italia

Writes the organizer, Brenda: "I am going for light Mediterranean bites, and Wine/Champagne. We will have a nice louge style ambiance with DJ Fuego of Austin. This is going to be a blast!"

I will be traveling through Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Indianapolis (Franklin Barry Gallery on Monday, May 15 during gallery hours), Chicago area, and Oklahoma. It would be great to "bump into" you, if possible. Let me know where you are and if we can work out a visit. Thank you!

I teamed up with Fine Art America a couple of years ago. It has been fun to see my art of products such as pillows, shower curtains, and prints on metal and more. Here is a sampling. I hope that you will give this a look. It is a great idea to introduce someone to art at an affordable price. If you do not see your favorite artwork by me, please contact me and I will add it to the store. Thank you! And have fun! Here is the link:http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-kelly-borsheim.html?tab=artwork

Some specs:

FAA: Our shower curtains are made from 100% polyester fabric and include 12 holes at the top of the curtain for simple hanging from your own shower curtain rings. The total dimensions of each shower curtain are 71" wide x 74" tall.

Wood prints: The art image of your choice gets printed directly onto a sheet of 3/4" thick maple wood. There are D-clips on the back of the print for mounting it to your wall using mounting hooks and nails (included).

Il Dono The Gift iphone 7 case by Kelly Borsheim. Protect your iPhone 7 with an impact-resistant, slim-profile, hard-shell case. The image is printed directly onto the case and wrapped around the edges for a beautiful presentation. Simply snap the case onto your iPhone 7 for instant protection and direct access to all of the phone's features! There are cases for other models of phones, AND you get to chose your own cropping on the art!

Effervescence - fountain drawing on a shower curtain!

Tuscan Table - Painting on maple wood, needs no frame!

il Dono - figure drawing on a phone case!

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Update: Pontremoli, Italy:

Update from September 2016: Kumiko returned to the Medieval Festival in Pontremoli, Italy, last September and discovered that a year or two before another stone carver was asked to "finish" our pieces. My bird still looks like a bird, but Kumiko's whole idea was changed! Remember how limited a time we had, especially for the size of our marble? Well, she was working horizontally, but had designed and was carving a vertical FLOWER. Now, look, the other artist turned her flower into a dragon! Kumiko told me back in 2013 that one must remain flexible and creative in the symposium situation. She was right! So, what do you think? The new, finished sculptures are in Kumiko's photo below, used here with permission.

Have a look at our original stone carvings [to see how they changed!] and the Medieval Festival

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Vasily Fedorouk’s Stone Carvings:

I am sure that I have written before that I was in complete AWE of Ukrainian-American sculptor Vasily Fedorouk when I first met him and saw him work in the summer of 2001. He blocked out a large belly dancer fountain in marble in about four days. Then he used a mechanical lifting arm he had mounted inside of his vehicle to load the marble sculpture into the back of his truck/van and drove off to his back-then-home in Seattle.

My own first stone carving teacher told me that I could carve anything EXCEPT the figure since she did not know how to teach that. But I could not give it up and carved a woman anyway. Most of the carvers I knew carved ribbon-like flowing shapes with a hole somewhere. I used to tease Vasily that he was god. He grumbled, “No, I am a man.” “Even better,” I said, “One expects great things from a god.”

I was lucky that year at the symposium in Marble, Colorado, because my carving site was within easy viewing of Vasily’s space. I probably spent more time watching his process or actually asking him questions about marble carving and even design. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to do and I was surprised how few other sculptors there did the same.

I miss my friend and am trying to help his wife Dilbara find good homes for the sculptures that are still available. Thank you for sharing the link to his site with anyone you feel would appreciate his work, as well as any images of his art. I want to share two of his stone carvings today. “Children of Paradise” is so very lovely and features a couple is yin and yang sort of poses. This work is one of the better examples of his signature way of making hair and other shapes. Isn’t it wonderful?

The second piece is a monument that he carved. I do not know the stone, but it may be basalt or another hard rock, but I do not believe it is granite. I include this one because it fits the theme of this serpent-oriented newsletter.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me. Thank you for sharing this newsletter with your friends and colleagues. Thank you. Please let me know if you would like to commission an artwork; or add an existing work to your home or work collection.

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Give a Book Review:

Thank you for your interest and support in the book I wrote this past summer about being a street artist in Italy. I was thrilled to receive such glowing feedback about how I had shared not only the art and the artists, but also something of the political environment regarding street art, interaction with the public and other street performers (my favorite chapter is the one in which I have invited children to join me on the pavement), as well as images of the Renaissance City herself.

The book is titled "My Life as a Street Painter in Florence, Italy." If you have read the book and would like to help in the promotion of it, perhaps you would consider writing up a short review for Amazon.com (or even send me a testimonial for my own site). Your review does not have to be fancy. The intention is to help other people get a better idea about what is inside and whether or not they may enjoy the read.

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